JAMES H. CONNOLLY


SAIC SOUND DEPARTMENT COLLOQUIUM

This talk was delivered to the SAIC sound department on March 28, 2012.





Cracked Ray Tube

Cracked Ray Tube at Super Happy Fun Land in Houston, Texas, October 9, 2011.













Kyle Evans



Kyle's Electronically Modified Didgeridoo



Kyle Evans, VTXTV At Heaven Gallery, 2010









My Own Work



Universal Codec Error Aborting Video, James Connolly 2010



CRT Video Synthesizer Experiment 03, James Connolly 2010









COLLABORATING/COMBINING OUR SYSTEMS





The Salvation Army at Fullerton and Ashland on November 6, 2010







Computer monitors waiting to be restored or recycled at Free Geek Chicago





Experimenting with stacked televisions, November 2010


Experimenting with stacked televisions, November 2010










MORE INDEPTH LOOK AT OUR INSTRUMENTS: CREATING SYSTEMS OF CHAOS



Combining two instruments exploiting two different communication networks of cathode ray tubes.





TELEVISIONS-DIY Transmitter Feedback Loop

Kyle Evans, DIY circuit bent analog video transmitter



DIY video transmitter



Sending television outputs back to televisions in a feedback loop wireless analog video transmission



Transmitting actual footage through wireless analog video transmission



Kyle Evans, hand-wound electromagnet in progress, 2011



Kyle Evans, hand-wound electromagnet, 2011



Kyle Evans, hand-wound electromagnet places inside television, 2011



Sending 60 hz from a function generator to diy electromagnets inside





James Connolly, no-input mixing board



VGA d-sub connectors



Hacked VGA cable



No-input mixing feedback loop



Shorting the feedback loop



Finding vertical bars within the feedback (frequencies above our hearing range)



Sending square waves from a malfunctioning function generator to the RG+B pins



Sending square waves from a broken function generator to the VGA monitors, October 2011 in Houston, TX



Broken function generator used to send frequencies to the monitors and electromagnets









SCORING/COMPOSING PERFORMANCES





Intro: broken function generator square waves sent to VGA monitors, televisions turn on

Chaotic Feedback

Vertical bars/shorting out

Chaortic feedback/grounding the function generator

Vertical bars in VGA monitors with with video signal transmitted to televisions


60 Hz. signal sent ao all monitors and magnets









HISTORICAL INFLUENCES





Nam June Paik



Nam June Paik, Piano Piece, 1993 Installation


Nam June Paik V-Yramid, 1982, Video installation, color, sound, with forty television sets, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York


Nam June Paik, Magnet TV, 1965, Modified black-and-white television set and magnet, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York


Nam June Paik, Magnet TV





Kyle Evans, electromagnet inside a television being sent a 60hz sine wave


Kyle Evans, electromagnet inside a television being sent a 60hz sine wave



James Connolly, VGA monitor electromagnet experiment, February 2012



Sending 60 hz to diy electromagnets inside the televisions, GLI.TC/H 2011





The Paik/Abe Synthesizer, also known as the Wobbulator at the Experimental Television Center.



Imagery generated in the Wobbulator


Nam June Paik, undated video experiments with color cathode ray tube


Nam June Paik, undated video experiments with color cathode ray tube


Nam June Paik, undated video experiments with color cathode ray tube



Nam June Paik, Random Access, 1963





John Cage



John Cage, still from a performance of Variations V





Dan Sandin, Phil Morton, and the Sandin Image Processor



Dan Sandin with the Sandin Image Processor



Still from Phil Morton's General Motors, 1976



Dan Sandin demonstrating the Sandin Image Processor





Ben Laposky



Ben Laposky



Ben Laposky, Oscillon





Kyle Evans, Sine.Magnet.Phosphoresced, 2011


Kyle Evans, Sine.Magnet.Phosphoresced, 2011


Kyle Evans, Sine.Magnet.Phosphoresced, 2011





Ant Farm



Still from Ant Farm's Media Burn, 1975





Distribution Religion



The Distribution Religion, Phil Morton and Dan Sandin


Phil Morton using the Sandin Image Processor


Diagram from Distribution Religion


Dan Sandin's Distribution Religion Introduction


Phil Morton's Distribution Religion Introduction









Cracked Ray Tube Performances



Posters for Strange Electronics, February 2011



Poster for Strange Electronics 2, May 2011





Acid Marshmallow night a Beauty Bar, February 2011, Chicago


Handmade Music Showcase at SXSW 2011, Austin, TX


Houston, TX October 2011


GLI.TC/H 2011, Chicago, IL


The Guthman Musical Instrument Competition, Atlanta, GA February 2012


The Guthman Musical Instrument Competition, Atlanta, GA February 2012








UPCOMING PROJECTS:



VARIATIONS V



James Connolly, photocell instrument for John Cage's Variations V performance, 2012


Kyle Evans, MaxMSP patch for photocells to interact with Cracked Ray Tube's setup for a performance of John Cage's Variations V, 2012




I am a Chicago-based artist, educator, museum worker, and archivist. My videos, open-source tools, and real-time audio/video performances undermine the interfaces and break through the algorithms of digital and analog systems, examining hidden power structures and liberating latent aesthetic materialities in cathartic and captivating compositions.

I am an Adjunct Associate Professor in the department of Film, Video, New Media, and Animation at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and the Collection Manager of the Roger Brown Study Collection.


NEWS/EVENTS

2022

September 10, 2022, 8:30 pm CRT Flux Phaser/RGB.VGA.VOLT performance at The Latent Space for the "Control Signals" exhibition performance series, Chicago, IL

August 13, 2022, 8:30 pm CRT Flux Phaser/RGB.VGA.VOLT and Cracked Ray Tube performance at The Latent Space for the "Control Signals" exhibition performance series, Chicago, IL

August 6, 2022, 7:00 pm opening for "Control Signals" solo exhibition at The Latent Space, Chicago, IL

August 6 - September 10, 2022 "Control Signals" solo exhibition at The Latent Space, Chicago, IL

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